Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during a meeting with foreign media journalists at the prime minister's office in Istanbul on December 9, 2015. (AFP)
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu today accused Russia of pursuing a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in Syria and strengthening ISIS terrorists, in the latest escalation of tensions between Ankara and Moscow.
"Russia is trying to make ethnic cleansing in the northern Latakia (region) to force (out) all Turkmen and Sunni populations who do not have good relations with the (Syrian) regime," Davutoglu told foreign reporters in Istanbul, adding that Russia's military strikes in Syria were "strengthening" ISIS terrorists by targeting moderate opposition forces.